Ross Leelum
The Slinky Fad
In the world today we always come across fads that have been rejuvenated from the past or some that are just still around but not extremely popular. We find fads in things like clothing, actions of individuals and toys and gadgets. Some of them are extremely silly while others are taken very seriously but no matter what they always tend to change our society. They created the popular cultures of the past and are always continuous. In the 1940's the Slinky was one of the most popular fads that caught worldwide attention and is still around today.
A "Slinky" is Eighty-Seven feet of flat wire coiled into three inch diameter circles, standing two inches high when stacked. Its springlike appearance and structure allows it to walk down stairs and stretch apart.
In 1945 around the time of the Vietnam War, a naval engineer named Richard James was developing an anti-vibration device for ship instruments which consisted of springs when by mistake he knocked over a few springs and was amazed at how they appeared to walk down the shelves in his working area. He then came up with the name "Slinky" which is Swedish for healthy, sleek and graceful. He then made a number of these toys and decided to sell them at the Gimbel's Department store in Philadelphia during the winter of 1945, just in time for the Christmas season. At that time he sold them for one dollar each so that he could attract the public's eye to the fascinating toy so that they might then eventually buy one. The toy was a success and all toys that he had were sold that day. Since then over a billion have been sold worldwide and the toy is still made in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania with the original equipment Richard James created. But the toy now has a crimp at the end of its wire for safer play. They also come in different sizes and colors.
The Slinky Fad
In the world today we always come across fads that have been rejuvenated from the past or some that are just still around but not extremely popular. We find fads in things like clothing, actions of individuals and toys and gadgets. Some of them are extremely silly while others are taken very seriously but no matter what they always tend to change our society. They created the popular cultures of the past and are always continuous. In the 1940's the Slinky was one of the most popular fads that caught worldwide attention and is still around today.
A "Slinky" is Eighty-Seven feet of flat wire coiled into three inch diameter circles, standing two inches high when stacked. Its springlike appearance and structure allows it to walk down stairs and stretch apart.
In 1945 around the time of the Vietnam War, a naval engineer named Richard James was developing an anti-vibration device for ship instruments which consisted of springs when by mistake he knocked over a few springs and was amazed at how they appeared to walk down the shelves in his working area. He then came up with the name "Slinky" which is Swedish for healthy, sleek and graceful. He then made a number of these toys and decided to sell them at the Gimbel's Department store in Philadelphia during the winter of 1945, just in time for the Christmas season. At that time he sold them for one dollar each so that he could attract the public's eye to the fascinating toy so that they might then eventually buy one. The toy was a success and all toys that he had were sold that day. Since then over a billion have been sold worldwide and the toy is still made in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania with the original equipment Richard James created. But the toy now has a crimp at the end of its wire for safer play. They also come in different sizes and colors.
